Unemployment high in Hale County, but low in Yoakum County

Sunday

Jun 2, 2013 at 12:01 AM

CHRIS HOFF

Taking a look at unemployment numbers in three communities on the South Plains, Hale County's numbers have jumped following the idling of Plainview's Cargill meat-processing plant, the healthy energy industry is keeping Yoakum County's number low and Brownfield's number has dropped.

All three areas are also concerned about the ongoing drought's affect on agriculture.

Hale County

Hale County's jobless rate is now 12.3 percent. More than 2,000 people lost jobs directly and an unknown number of workers indirectly had hours cut or employment terminated after the move by Cargill.

Kevin Carter, president of the Hale County Economic Development Corp., said things are going about as well as can be expected in Plainview. While the unemployment numbers have increased, there has not been a decline in economic activity, he said.

"It is not as bad as I thought it would be," Carter said.

With the local schools releasing students for the summer, Carter said in the next few weeks people may start to leave the community. He guessed many families were waiting for the school year to end to relocate. As people without jobs leave, the unemployment rate will decrease.

Carter believes more jobs will be created in Plainview, but said it will take time.

"It is not going to happen overnight," he said.

One solution for Carter is an industrial park that could draw business to the community.

"If you have something in place," Carter said, "you have a stronger recruitment tool."

But Carter estimated it would take 12-18 months before businesses could start moving into an industrial park.

And a bigger threat than Cargill idling its facility could be in the near future, Carter said. If the county doesn't get rain soon, he believes the agricultural losses could hurt Hale County more than the loss of jobs at the meat packing plant. More than half of the economy in Hale County, Carter said, is agriculturally based.

"We certainly need rain," he said.

Carter predicted the next 12-18 months would be tough, but said Plainview and Hale County would recover.

A spirit of optimism is apparent when talking to Bill Coleman, the Hale County judge.

"This is going to be a temporary thing for us," Coleman said.

An oil discovery in the southern part of the county is one reason Coleman feels positive about the future.

Another potential for growth Coleman sees is the industrial park, which will be a joint city/county project.

"It is going slower than I would like," Coleman said of the industrial park, "but, we are making progress."

One concern in searching for a location is finding a spot where city services can be affordably extended. Coleman said they are looking for 500 acres.

"We want something that can grow and expand," he said. "If everything goes really, really well, we could purchase land in eight-nine months."

Growth in the energy industry, Coleman explained, didn't create a lot of jobs. However, the increased revenue from these businesses could be used to invest in bringing new business to Hale County. The industrial park is just one example of this kind of investment.

"You have to be looking eight10 years down the road," Coleman said. "You have to be very farsighted."

Like Carter, Coleman said recovery wouldn't be immediate, and added it was foolish to think the economy would bounce back quickly.

"We won't even know the full impact of what we are looking at until next year," Coleman said.

Workforce Solutions has established an office designed to assist those displaced by Cargill's plant idling, called the New Opportunity Center. It's located at 1001 N. I-27 Ste. 228, next to the Plainview Workforce Solutions office, and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Danny Soliz, director of business development for Workforce Solutions, said original plans for the center were for it to close at the end of 2013. However, it could remain open longer.

"As long as we have the funding available," Soliz said, "we'll keep it open."

In April, 1,100 employees visited the center and in May, 767 employees used its services. Those services include help applying for jobs and writing a resume as well as access to computers, phones and a fax machine.

Brownfield

Several factors are credited by Buzz Timmons, vice president of the Chamber of Commerce board, for Brownfield's growth and jobless rate falling to 6.1 percent.

"The oil boom has reached Brownfield," he said.

And Timmons doesn't expect the economy in Brownfield or Terry County to slow until drilling for oil and natural gas slows in the region. Brownfield was one of two locations being considered for a new Haliburton facility, he said.

"We're hoping for Brownfield," Timmons said.

But there are other industries in Terry County. It's the source of 80 percent of Texas' grapes, for example. The Texas grape and wine industry will be the spotlight of the Vineyard Festival at the end of July.

"It will be the first-ever vineyard festival in the Napa Valley of Texas," Timmons said, "which is Terry County."

Yoakum County

County Judge Jim Barron said the economy, with a 3.1 percent jobless rate, is supported by the energy industry and agriculture.

"If you can pass a drug test," Barron said, "you can get a good job with the oil companies."

Barron said the freezes in April and May caused significant damage to some of the county's wheat and grape crops, but hasn't hurt the economy as a whole.

"The drought is hurting all of us," Barron said. "If we don't get some rain soon, it is going to very much restrict our agricultural production ability."

The principal driver of Yoakum County's economy, though, is energy. Barron explained 85 percent of the county's property tax comes from the industry.

However, Barron said a loss of agriculture as an industry in the county would be devastating because of how many jobs would be lost. After setup, Barron said, an oil field needs little labor, whereas a farm has a constant need for workers.

The growth comes with one challenge … housing.

"We weren't prepared to have the housing for the people who wanted to come in," he said.

Too much growth doesn't concern Barron, but he's concerned about growth being balanced between population increase and development of services.

"I think we need to be able to sustain the growth," he said.

Barron sees a viable future ahead for Yoakum County, but said there's still a need to focus on growth.

"I think we have good days ahead," Barron said. "I'd rather live here than anywhere else."

christopher.hoff@lubbockonline.com

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